Back to the Beginning
by Egyptian Eve
Summary: A new quest sends Rick, Evy and Co. back to Hamunaptra [a work in progress].
1. Default Chapter

Rick O'Connell was listening.  
  
His dark head was canted, those ice blue eyes narrowed slightly, a hand resting on the Colt .45 in his right shoulder holster. Someone was creeping up on him from behind- in the garden of his own home. He knew it wasn't Alex, who in bed long ago and knew better, or Evy, who had been sleeping soundly most of the night. He hadn't been able to sleep, so he'd gone outside for some air. And he'd brought something with him. Rick took a deep breath, then whirled, the gun leveled at the figure cloaked in shadow that was rapidly approaching him....  
  
"Rick O'Connell, if you point that thing at me one more time--"  
He lowered the gun, frowning. "Christ, Evelyn, it's two in the morning. I thought you were asleep."  
  
The lithe, willowy figure cloaked in a black nightgown stepped out into the moonlight, a smile playing on delicate features, her dark hair windblown, arms folded beneath her chest, over an old book.  
"I woke up when you went out the door. That always seems to happen," she murmured. "So I thought I'd sit up and read a bit, but when you didn't come back..."  
He leaned down and nuzzled her nose a bit with his, then paused when his eyes fell on the cover of the book. "Oh, no. Just what are you reading?" He reached out a hand, pulling the book out of her arms.   
  
Evy immediately protested, her hands firmly holding on and pulling it back toward her chest.  
"Nothing!" She said innocently. "I was just... searching out some vacation spots. I think we need to go on holiday." Evy batted her lashes at Rick, those dark eyes sparkling with mischief, and his brows lifted.  
"Oh, really. And does this involve walkimg talking sacred corpses chasing us around some blessed oasis with their dead girlfriends kidnapping our son and threatening your brother?"  
  
Dark sapphire eyes met Ice-blues, and Evy's expression was mildly shocked.   
  
"Of course not! Nothing of the sort. I was thinking of the Nile river delta, a place called Tensetna... not far from here..." as she spoke, she trailed her fingertips along his jaw, walking around him a bit, her head canted, eyes luminous. As he regarded her silently, she slowly backed toward a limestone table in the center of the garden. She continued. "Warm sand... beaches.... cool breezes... blue-green water..."  
Rick's eyes were locked with hers. "Sipping single-malt and watching swimsuits. Sure, sure." He waved a hand at her indignant look. "I get the idea... and a deja-vu thing going on. So go ahead and tell me. What's the catch, Evy?"  
  
"Catch?" This, as innocently as she could. "I'm sure I have -no- idea what you're talking about..."  
She was rounding the table now, and Rick was following, trying to catch her.   
"I don't believe you. Evy, love of my life, light of my soul, mother of my son... I know how you think. There has to be a catch, and until I hear it, I'm saying no."  
  
Exasperated, she threw up her hands and rounded the table again, keeping her distance from him. "Oh, fine. It's the sacred burial site of Pharaoh Tuthmoses I, and supposedly where the golden chalice of Amon-Ra, a cursed cup that bestowed powers upon ordained rulers, is buried. Happy now?"  
"I knew there was a catch."   
  
In an instant, Rick jumped over the table, taking his wife by the arms and pulling her to him and giving her a dark look. After several moments, he kissed her deeply, then broke away, those crystal eyes slightly wild as he pushed her away from him, holding her by the arms. After a moment, he spoke.  
"No." Rick turned and headed for the house.  
Evy simply stared, then whimpered as she snatched up her book, lifted the skirt of her nightgown, and gave chase. "Rick, wait...!"  
  
-------Part One: The Chase  
  
She found him upstairs in their bedroom, ridding himself of all his firearms for the night- again. He was shirtless, and removing the holsters from his belt when she stepped in and shut the door behind her. Evy leaned against it, simply gazing at him in silence. Hair fell down in his eyes and he grinned, tossing the holsters onto a chair and crooking a finger toward her in a "Come Hither" motion. Of course, she obeyed, stepping up but a few inches from him, looking down, her eyes focused somewhere on his chest . With the tips of his fingers, he tilted her chin up, and her eyes met his. Rick sighed deeply.  
"Evy, we'll go. But only if there's no hunting, no chasing, no curses sent out, no mummies..."  
"Of course," she said softly, her mind elsewhere.  
"Evy, I mean it..." his tone was quiet, and serious. Her eyes focused a bit more and she nodded.  
"I know you do." Then she leaned up and kissed him...  
  
***  
  
In the middle of the night, thunder rolled, and Alex sat straight up in bed. He'd heard something. He could have sworn it was hus mum and dad.. crying out for each other like they were in pain, or... something.   
  
But he must have been dreaming.. all was still now, save his puppy Horus, who had stuck his cold nose under the sheets and was whimpering as lightning flashed. Alex rubbed his head, his own blue eyes shifting to the lightning-streaked sky outside his window. A loud CRASH was heard, sending him up on his feet and out the bedroom door, Horus on his heels. He ran into his parents's room. It was warm in there, and Rick and Evy were curled up together under the sheets of the bed. Alex rounded one side and tugged on his dad's hair, as both of his arms were around his wife.  
"Dad? Daaaaaad....."  
Rick groaned softly and turned over. "Alex? What is it? Why aren't you in bed?"  
"Dad, I..." The little boy swallowed, blue eyes moving to his sleeping mum, who was stirring, then back to his dad. "I heard something.. and the storm.. and Horus was afraid..."  
Muted laughter rumbled in Rick's chest and he scooted over some, moving Evy as well, and gesturing for Alex to lay down on his other side.  
"Alex?" Evy murmured, lifting up a bit.  
"Horus was scared of the storm, Mum," He said shakily, and Evy ruffled his hair, smiling.   
"You can sleep with us tonight... go on and rest now..." She laid her head on Rick's chest as he put one arm around each of them and lay back, closing his eyes. In moments, the three of them slumbered again, Horus curled up at their feet.   
  
Evy sat up again at about five in the morning, her eyes wide and unseeing, she slid off the bed and rose, and Alex curled closer to his Dad as one of Rick's arms was left empty. Quiet footsteps carried her to the nightstand, where she withdrew one of Rick's knives from the belt that lay atop the mahgoany finished table. Then she turned and walked out onto the balcony, the knife held in slender hands, those dark eyes gazing at the sky, but seeing another time.....  
  
************************  
  
The tears wouldn't stop. They flowed like rain, like a waterfall, and she was powerless to stop them. She was the pharaoh's daughter, but... the pharaoh was dead, and her stepbrother Ramses in his place tonight as she leaned against the rail of her balcony, gazing out at the stars, forlorn. She wore vibrant purple with a streak of red across the straight line of the bodice that ran across her chest and wrapped around her back. Her long, dark hair was half pulled back, a deep red ribbon woven into it, and her fingertips slipped under that weave, undoing the criscrossing ribbon and setting her hair free. Her father had always said she had her mother's looks, her eyes, her silky dark hair. Nefertiri's eyes filled with tears....  
  
************************  
  
Rick's eyes opened, feeling that something was amiss. His wife's nook in his shoulder was empty, his arm stretched across wrinkled sheets where she had been. His eyes immediately flew about the room, and he saw her figure, standing out on the balcony, gazing up, holding something in her hands. His brow furrowed and he distangled Alex, swinging his legs across the bed so that his feet rested on the hardwood floor of their bedroom, and he spoke to his wife, softly. "Evelyn? Sweetheart..."  
  
*************************  
  
The princess' head turned. Someone was calling her, in a voice well-known. One of the Madjai... Rhan. She bit her full lower lip. Rhan was the only one left.. the only person that meant anything to her... and she couldn't bear it anymore, knowing that one day, he, too, would die, never knowing how she felt, and would become dust. Like her father had. And she knew, somewhere deep down, that she shouldn't fight anymore. The bracelet would have to find another protector, Egypt another princess. There wasn't anything to do but what she was about to do, as she stood clutching the dagger she held in her hands tighter, holding the point towards her heart. Her eyes closed tightly....  
  
*************************  
  
Rick saw Evy's motions, and in an instant, knew exactly what was going on, launching himself off the bed and toward the vast expanse of floor, toward the balcony....  
  
"...EVELYN! NO!!!"  



	2. Default Chapter 2

Everything was in slow motion. Evy's slender hands, gripping the dagger and bringing it down toward her chest. Rick, diving out of bed and sprinting across the floor to her. After what seemed an eternity, he reached her, hands locking around her wrists and turning them. Her eyes widened and realization dawned on her, as the knife clattered to the stone floor of the balcony. Those dark eyes fixed on Rick, returning his intense gaze as he tipped her chin up uncertainly.  
"Evelyn?" His voice was tremulous. Tears filled her eyes and she pushed herself into his arms, burying her face in his chest as he ran a hand through her hair.  
"It's over now," he said quietly. "You're all right.. I've got you..." He continued to speak softly, nonsense meant to soothe, somehow understanding what had happened. He'd seen the look on her face.  
  
Oh, yes. He knew that look.  
  
****  
  
The taxi door opened and out scampered a labarador retriever puppy. Following it, jumping onto the curb, a boy of eight or nine years old, who went chasing after the dog maniacally, exclaiming, "HORUS!" Finally, the O'Connells stepped out, Rick offering a hand to Evy and resting a hand at the small of her back, guiding her into the hotel.  
  
Evy looked up, and all around, suddenly feeling like she was being watched. She shook her head and glanced back to see that their luggage was taken care of, brushing it off. It was nothing, she was sure.  
  
He ducked back into the shadows, breathing a sigh of relief. He hadn't been seen. He couldn't afford to blow his cover now, not if he wanted that chalice. A cold smile curved his thin lips. This woman knew where it was. She was going to find it.  
  
And he... was going to take it.  
  
****  
  
Evy had started to unpack. The sun was setting as Rick pushed the door to the bedroom open and made his way in, looking at the michiever she had created, spreading clothes about and putting things in drawers.  
"What'd you do, Evy, bring the whole house?"  
She gave him a dark look. "No, just a few things."  
"Should I ask why your tool kit and supplies are here? Evy..." She put a finger over his lips.   
"It's okay, Rick, no worries, right?" Then she smiled brightly and carried some things into the bathroom. Rick held up a finger, starting to protest, then just sighed as Alex came barrelling in, carrying a squirming Horus. Rick ruffled his son's hair and petted the retriever in Alex's arms.  
"Hey, Dad. Horus found something in my room. You wanna see?" With that, Alex pulled out a small, square box and held it out to Rick, who took it and started to look it over.  
"Hey, Evy? You might wanna get a look at this...."  
She came back in, took the box, and sat down, fingering it gingerly. "Alex, where did you get this?"  
Alex blinked innocently. "Horus found it in my room, Mum."  
Evy gave him a skeptical look and turned the box over and over, studying it more carefully. It was gold. On what she assumed was the top, since it seemed to have no lid, was a lapis lazuli scarab, with a copper ankh set into its' back. This box was very, very old.  
And it was covered in inscriptions.   
Evy read them silently, pausing briefly and looking up at Rick. "I think he may have found something..."  
Rick merely frowned and leaned over her shoulder to study it. She turned the heiroglyphic-covered box over, pressing on the bottom and the two narrower sides at the same time. With a click, a crack appeared all the way around the box.   
She'd found the lid.   
With a dubious look at Alex and Rick, she gingerly lifted the lid.  
  
Her sharp cry echoed throughout the suite of the hotel. 


End file.
